17-point comeback not enough as Connecticut falls to Duke

Head coach Jim Mora struggled to find positives from the UConn football team’s 41-7 home loss to the Duke Blue Devils last season. Connecticut lost their leading tackler, Jackson Mitchell, on a targeting penalty and did not score until the final frame. Everything but their effort, in Mora’s eyes, went wrong for the Huskies.

UConn found some positives in Durham, North Carolina, almost a year later; for starters, they gave the Blue Devils a duel. At one point, the Huskies had come all the way back after being down 17-0, scoring 21 unanswered points between the second and third quarters.

Hot as they were for a chunk of Saturday’s contest, Connecticut could not leave the Tar Heel state with a program-building win. The Huskies, once ahead 21-17, surrendered the game’s final nine points and came up short against Duke 26-21 at Wallace Wade Stadium.

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UConn compiled their best performance against a Power Four conference opponent since they upset the Boston College Eagles in 2022. Blue Devils’ head coach Manny Diaz’s offense only gained five yards per play on 82 snaps. Running back Cam Edwards ran for 106 yards and a touchdown while catching a 26-yard reception. Wisconsin transfer Nick Evers, back under center after a one-game hiatus, threw for 135 yards with a touchdown and gained 60 on the ground. Linebackers Tui Faumuina-Brown and Jayden McDonald each collected 10+ tackles.

The Huskies, as a team, fell short against an opponent projected to beat them by double figures. Despite the many positive takeaways, Mora did not feel satisfied.

“We did not come here to come close,” the former UCLA coach commented after the game.

Certain aspects of the game kept Connecticut from pulling off the upset. The Huskies’ offensive line allowed seven tackles for a loss and their first sack of the season. Duke gained a season-high 409 yards of total offense and had three different wide receivers collect 60+ through the air. Texas transfer Maalik Murphy picked up three passing touchdowns for the second straight weekend. UConn committed six penalties, twice as many as their opponent, for 50 yards.

"We did not come here to come close."

UConn head coach Jim Mora

The Huskies went 6-17 on third down, but some of the plays they called on those snaps contributed to some of the offense’s struggles. Evers’ backwards pass and his flea-flicker on Connecticut’s first two possessions, respectively, resulted in plays for negative yardage. Both of the redshirt sophomore’s turnovers came on that specific down.

The Huskies’ most important play of the night, which occurred with five minutes left in regulation, came on that down. UConn’s offense had a hole in front of them after seemingly fooling the Blue Devil defense before the snap. Instead of running for the first down with nothing but green grass ahead, the Huskies opted for a pass. Redshirt junior Skyler Bell could not complete the catch.

Connecticut’s offense started the game the same way they began the 2024 season. Evers exploded out of the gate with a 23-yard sprint to the right. Although they made it into enemy territory, the Huskies’ offense sputtered and punted the ball away. The Blue Devils subsequently wasted no time going ahead 7-0. Murphy found graduate wideout Jordan Moore deep downfield for a 45-yard reception. Seven plays later, the former faked a handoff and the latter let the ball tip off his fingers before making the touchdown catch.

Evers’ fumble in the second quarter further shifted momentum in Duke’s direction. Junior kicker Todd Pelino made UConn pay for their turnover with a 53-yard field goal that put the Blue Devils ahead 10-0. Murphy’s 36-yard touchdown pass to graduate wide receiver Eli Pancol on Duke’s ensuing possession gave them a 17-0 advantage.

The Blue Devils seemed well on their way to their third consecutive scoring drive nearly five minutes later. Almost as quickly as Duke got into a rhythm, however, the Huskies’ linebacker department changed the track.

Faumuina-Brown deflected Murphy’s second-down pass right as it left his hand. Redshirt sophomore Langston Hardy hauled it in and took it to the house for Connecticut’s first takeaway and defensive score of the season.

As though fired up by Mora’s halftime speech down 17-7, the Huskies started the second half on fire. Evers started the rally with a 21-yard scramble down the left sideline. The Texas transfer nearly cashed in six plays later with a run to the other sideline. When replay review ruled him down at the one-yard line, Edwards hit paydirt instead and cut the deficit to three.

The Norwalk native got involved in both aspects of the offense on UConn’s ensuing possession. Edwards first sprinted for 13 yards and added 15 more on a late hit. Evers found him open near the same sideline for a 26-yard completion on the very next play. Redshirt junior tight end Alex Honig capped off the Huskies’ comeback with his second touchdown catch in as many weekends.

"We see what we can be, but we are not that yet. And we have got to work religiously until we become that."

UConn head coach Jim Mora to Fox Sports Radio 97.9 FM

But despite being ahead 21-17, Connecticut started running out of gas. The Huskies did not collect a first down on their next two possessions. In turn, the Blue Devils snatched the lead from UConn’s grasp. Duke cut the deficit to one on Pelino’s 47-yard field goal and followed that up with junior safety Terry Moore’s interception three plays later. The Blue Devils found the endzone this time around, going ahead 26-21 when Murphy found redshirt freshman Que’Sean Brown for a 20-yard touchdown connection.

The Huskies made one last push down the field three minutes later behind Edwards’ 16-yard rush and Bell’s 18-yard reception. As far as they got, though, Connecticut came up empty-handed when Indiana transfer Chris Freeman’s kick sailed just right of the goalposts. The Blue Devils subsequently ran out the clock and tied the all-time series at two.

Although they could not get their revenge over Duke on the road, Saturday evening’s contest marked the last time the Huskies play away from home until November. UConn’s six-game homestand in East Hartford starts next Saturday when they host the Florida Atlantic Owls. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. EDT on CBS Sports Network.